Inflated view counts can lead to wasted ad impressions for brands. YouTube advertisers could be wasting money on ads that aren’t seen by humans if channels that are eligible for monetization buy fake views.Brands duped into striking a deal with one of these creators would end up paying for a sponsored video from someone who doesn’t have as big of a YouTube following as it appears. Wannabe influencers could buy fake views to secure brand deals. YouTubers with relatively small followings, as opposed to YouTube giants like PewDiePie, might buy fake views to boost their attractiveness to brands targeting micro-influencers.
YouTube is focused on preventing users from inflating view counts because it violates its terms of service, as well as greatly misleads advertisers and consumers about the popularity of certain content.īrands should be aware of users’ ability to artificially inflate their YouTube view counts: Social media marketing company Devumi made $1.2 million over three years by selling 196 million YouTube video views, for example. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
